The pedicure industry is expanding in today's economy. A pedicure spa is located in many pedicure salons and many salon professionals are now trained to administer a pedicure to their various clients. Clients sit at the pedicure spa where technicians can provide pedicure services as well as other spa services. Salon professionals or pedicurists render treatment and comfort of the feet of a person in addition to other included services. Prior art pedicure spas may be prone to harbor bacteria and/or other harmful pollutants in the water that may originate from a client's foot or other extremities. Such bacteria or other pollutants may also be introduced into a pedicure spa by a first client and be harbored in the pedicure spa when the apparatus is used by the salon professional to service subsequent clients receiving a pedicure.
Many pedicure spas employ the use of a basin for the purpose of holding water and other features for the comfort of a pedicure client. Bacteria, skin cells and/or other pollutants may leech from a client's feet or other extremities into the water and other parts of the pedicure spa. More specifically, pedicure spas may include one or more lights, heating elements, and/or pumps configured to agitate the water for the further comfort of the client. In order to ensure water-tightness of the tub, gaskets or seals may be employed to protect light bulbs or electrical components of employed pumps from the water. Further, in order to ensure that the pedicure spa is maintainable, these gaskets and/or seals may be removable so that a salon professional may replace light bulbs and/or service and electrical components located within the tub. A gasket and/or seal may be employed with a light bulb housing so that a salon professional may remove the light bulb housing in order to replace a bulb in the event that it requires replacing.
Because water is used in the tub in order to soak a client's extremities, bacteria and/or pollutants may be transmitted or leech into the pedicure spa from a client's extremities via the water used for the pedicure. Subsequently, these pollutants may be harbored within the pedicure spa. Further, such bacteria and pollutants may be harbored around, underneath, or behind the above mentioned gaskets and/or seals that are employed in order to ensure water tightness of the tub. A salon professional may be unable after each use of the tub to thoroughly clean and sanitize these areas of the tub. Such areas may be hidden from convenient access by gaskets and/or seals but still exposed to bacteria or pollutants that may leech into these areas because of the water employed in the pedicuring process.
FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a prior art pedicure spa 100, which is also known as a spa basin or pedicure basin. The depicted prior art pedicure spa 100 includes a light and an inlet for a pump agitating water held in the basin 106. The gasket 104 and lighting cover 102 is employed in the depicted prior art pedicure spa 100 in order to ensure water tightness of the basin when water is employed in the pedicuring process by a salon professional. Water may be filled into the basin at or above the vertical position of the light, thereby introducing a risk of water seeping into the electrical components of the light if the integrity of the gasket or seal has been compromised, which can cause a risk of electrocution or failure of the electrical components of the light. Further, it should also be appreciated that bacteria and/or pollutants may seep into the water and exist in, behind, or around the gasket 104.
While a salon professional may clean the basin between uses of the pedicure spa, it should be appreciated that bacteria and/or pollutants existing in and around the gasket and/or seal may not be fully cleansed. It should further be appreciated that over time, the gasket 104 and light cover 102 preventing fluidic communication between the light bulb and the remainder of the basin may decay or lose its structural integrity, creating a risk of water seepage into the electrical components of the light. Such a scenario may create an electrocution hazard or a risk of failure of the electrical components of the light.
The prior art pedicure spa further includes an inlet 110 for a pump that is used to agitate water used in the pedicuring process. Such water agitation increases the comfort of a client receiving a pedicure from a salon professional. The inlet 110 provides access for water to enter a pump that circulates the water, providing the required water agitation. The use of an electric pump in prior art pedicure spas may employ an additional gasket 108 or seal in order to fluidically separate the electrical components of the pump from water in the pedicure spa. Because water is often adjacent to such a seal or gasket, a risk is introduced of water seepage into the electrical components of the pump if the integrity of the gasket or seal has been compromised, which can cause a risk of electrocution or failure of the electrical components of the light. Further, it should also be appreciated that bacteria and/or pollutants may seep into the water and exist in, behind, or around the gasket.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a light 112 and light housing 114 employed in the prior art pedicure spa of FIG. 1. Light cover 102 and gasket 104 may extend from an interior surface 115 or wall of the basin 106. Light cover 102 and gasket 104 operate to ensure water tightness from the interior of the basin from the electrical components of the light, including the light 112 and light housing 114. As noted above, bacteria and/or pollutants may seep into the water employed during use of the pedicure spa from a client's extremities and reside in or around the gasket. Such bacteria and/or pollutants may also seep into the water and bypass the gasket and reside in and around the bulb and/or bulb housing.